In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

This week on the Morning Shift, we’re examining what’s next for various groups now that Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States. We speak to millennials of all political stripes about what a Trump presidency means to them and how it will affect how they engage politically.

Before the presidential election, Saturday Night Live featured Alec Baldwin doing an impression of Donald Trump, but that character was notably absent this past weekend during the show’s first episode since Trump became the President-elect. Was it a sign of the times?  Now that a new political era has dawned, what does that mean for the comedians and satirists who riff on the news of the day? Morning Shift talks with Anne Libera, professor of Comedy Studies at Columbia College and author of The Second City Almanac of Improvisation.

On the 20th anniversary of his passing we remember the Cardinal by talking to Steven Millies, history professor and author of the new book Joseph Bernardin: Seeking Common Ground.

Many women and young girls are still coming to terms with Hillary Clinton’s presidential election loss. Arguably one of the most qualified candidates to run for the office, Clinton’s loss has many asking “If she can’t break that glass ceiling, who can?”  So what’s ahead for women with political ambitions?  The Morning Shift talks with feminist writer Kate Schatz, author of Rad Women Worldwide and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to get their take on the future of women in U.S. politics. 

On this Veterans Day, Morning Shift speaks with Aaron Glantz, a reporter who has been covering veterans and domestic military issues for The Center for Investigative Reporting.  First, we look at how and why Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton when it came to garnering support from veterans. He beat her by a margin of two to one, taking veterans by a much larger margin than John McCain did in 2008. Then, we look at how the veterans health care system is doing after a bumpy few years. 

Carol Moseley Braun’s resume is a series of “firsts”: first female African-American senator in U.S. history, first African-American senator from the Democratic party, the first woman to defeat an incumbent U.S. senator in an election, and the first woman senator from Illinois.  She loves talking about history, the feminist movement, and the role of women in politics. So she was the perfect guest for the post-election edition of WBEZ’s Nerdette podcast. 

Donald Trump has won the presidency of the United States, defeating Hillary Clinton with 279 electoral college votes. Morning Shift  took calls from listeners and deconstructed the stunning election results for two hours Wednesday morning. 

This election season has been a nonstop rollercoaster for 16 months so let’s have some fun, shall we?

As Illinois contends with a severe budget crisis, the two candidates who want to work the state’s purse strings have taken off the gloves and the folks backing them are putting their money on the table.  Morning Shift talks to WBEZ’s Dan Weissmann about the heated battle between Democrat Susana Mendoza and Republican incumbent Leslie Munger to serve as state comptroller.

Millions of Americans will head to the polls tomorrow and exercise their constitutional right to vote with the exception of a group that has been a center point of this election. A report published by the National Partnership for New Americans shows that almost half a million legal immigrants are stuck in a backlog of pending citizenship applications with the crisis effectively silencing their voice. Morning Shift talks with Tara Raghuveer, deputy director of the National Partnership for New Americans, about the magnitude of the backlog and how Illinois is in danger of becoming a disenfranchisement zone.